Schoolhouse Rock [Mötley Crüe]

Twenty-Seven

Tommy was desperate for a fresh start.

Nikki just wanted to start in general.

The next day, Tommy sat Nikki down on the bed for a talk.

"Okay, first of all. What are you doing about school?"

"Ah, who cares," Nikki scoffed. "They fucked us over big time, and probably don't care if I ever come back. I'll go back tomorrow, if it makes you happy."

Tommy sighed, knowing that it was too late to drive Nikki in without making a fuss anyway. He nodded.

"Okay, fine. Next. We need jobs. Both of us." Tommy pointed out sadly, glancing over at the small pile of money Nikki had given him from working at the roller rink. "I can probably get something better, since I have a high school diploma but.. fuck, I'll never have any real degree now.. I.."

"Hey, hey.. it'll be okay. You and me can pick up jobs at the old record store, yeah? It says they're hiring out front. Meanwhile, we can really pull this band together.. Mick and Vince are cool with you, so we can take the offer. I figured it'd be better to get ourselves back on our feet before we do that, though." Nikki murmured, rubbing Tommy's arm.

"Will that even bring in enough to keep this place? It's so expensive, even for just a small apartment."

"Don't start gettin' doubtful now, babe. You've stayed strong this entire time. I know we can do this. Between us, we should easily be able to bring in enough. Do you wanna go down there today and fill out applications?"

"Yeah, actually.. that sounds good." Tommy smiled softly, appreciating that he wasn't the only one who had to do the comforting around here.

They quickly dressed themselves before leaving the apartment, driving the short ways to the familiar old record shop. The bright yellow 'Now Hiring!' sign out front stuck out in the dreary colors of the worn town.

They trotted inside, finding a stack of application papers and filling them out. They handed the sheets to one of the employees before going to check out what new records had come in. Nikki hadn't been here for a while, staying away so he could save his money. Tommy knew he shouldn't look because he would want to spend money, but they should be getting new jobs anyway. He could afford to buy a little gift for Nikki, and maybe something for him, too.

Tommy followed Nikki through the aisles, watching his smaller boyfriend finger through the stacks that were in no particular order.

On their way through the store, Tommy smirked, scooping up a new-looking copy of Houses of the Holy and keeping it tucked under his arm. His copy at home was scratched and skipped on D'yer Mak'er; he had been hoping to get a new one for a while.

Nikki paused a little ahead of him, biting his lip. Tommy watched with a lopsided smile as Nikki tugged out a Master of Reality record that was slightly worn around the corners of the cover.

"I've been looking for one of these for so long. They almost never come in, and I always miss 'em when they do," He growled softly, flipping it over and gazing lovingly at the back. "Man, I love this album."

"It's yours, babe." Tommy smiled softly, wrapping his arm around Nikki and his newfound treasure.

"What? You aren't buying me anything. Actually, I shouldn't even be looking. We need the money for other stuff-"

"No, shh. I'll get it for you. It's only ten bucks, anyway." Tommy pressed a soft kiss to Nikki's cheek, gently taking the vinyl from him and tucking it away with his record.